Adam was diagnosed when he was 19 months old, now he just turned 2 in October. Been a rough ride but we took to it right away. My wife had a tough time accepting it, she's still not there 100%. When I marched in that emergency room and told them that I was sure he had developed Type 1 they all looked at me funny until 5 minutes later when they took that reading from the tip of his little finger. 33. '' yes sir, that's what we're dealing with'' was what they said. My wife burst into tears and right away I went into Super Daddy mode ( inside I was completely devastated but I had to be strong for my family right?) and I just looked into my wife's eyes and said not to worry. My son was sitting down playing with a Dora doll. Very weird. As if nothing was wrong. He was rushed to ICU and plugged into insulin for the whole night. We stood by him but allowed ourselves to sleep for an hour. When we woke up at 7am, we hurried over to the ICU and what do we see? Adam sitting up in bed with nurses all around him, smiling and showing off. What a relief. Kinda. The next couple of days were a blurr, we had meetings, courses more meetings doctors and after 3 nights there, we were sent off home. Scared out of out minds...
fast forward to today, still not easy to deal with. He doesn't know what's going on. He just knows that 4 times a day we take blood from his finger and 4 times a day we inject him with something. It's not fair and not fun. It seems as if we are always doing something to him. If it's injecting him it's making sure he eats. He's always eating! Breakfast at 8, snack at 9 or so, lunch at 11, nap, snack at 3pm, dinner at 5:30, snack at 8pm then sleep..and in between all that are blood tests and insulin!
So I'm sure all the parents out there have the same feeling.....
Bless your heart!! You actually brought tears to my eyes when you said you went into Super Daddy mode because i did the same thing only it was Super Mommy mode... You do feel like you are always sticking or pricking them with something. I'll look at my daughters tiny little fingers sometimes and my heart just breaks when you see all the little punctures from doing the test.....At times it does seem like the same thing over and over again. Day in and day out. Hopefully once Adam gets older and he can get more involved in his testing it won't seem as bad. My daughter was just diagnosed on the 4th of December and here, 25 days later, she has already starting giving herself her own shots. Sometimes i feel like i just have to monitor things. Since Adam was diagnosed so young, when he gets a few years older this will all be so second nature to him you will just be amazed!!....I'm sure you have heard this before, but just by reading your story let me say YOU TRULY ARE A SUPER DADDY!
It must be way harder on a little one like that. He cant possibly understand the why of it all. But like Denise said in a few years of it just being a part of his life it is going to be second nature to him. He isnt going to remember a time with out it. I think that will be a benefit having a 9 yo just dxed with type one on 12-15.
My son was diagnosed at 12 months old. I didn't even suspect he had diabetes or anything serious. I took him to the pediatrician because I thought he had food poisoning or something. I don't know if I would call it "Super Mommy" mode or what. I just did what I had to do and learned what I had to learn so I could get my baby home and keep him healthy. My husband was the one who had a hard time with it and he barely came to the hospital. To this day he has very little to do with Brandan's diabetes management. I'm not cutting my husband down, it works for us. I remember feeling like my baby has just lost all of his innocence and the guilt of knowing that he only had one "good, normal" year of life and I missed a lot of it because I worked. I felt like I would never know who he could have grown up to be because now he was forced to be something/someone else. When we got home it seemed like our entire lives revolved around food. I sometimes still feel that way.
Brandan is 3 1/2 now. Now he knows that he has diabetes and he knows why Mama gives him insulin. He is awesome. He's my Super Hero. :)
We share a similiar situations as my little boy Sawyer was diagnosed at 22 months and is now 2 yrs. and 7 months. As far as the eating is concerned...he is also always eating. At times I feel like I am force feeding him. He takes everything else...testing, needles, etc... with a grain of salt...not even a fight. However the food issue is so frustrating. How could they possibly even be hungry with all that eating. Out of curiousity which insulins is your child on? My son takes NPH in the morning with Novolog to correct and cover food to be eaten. At dinner time he gets 1 unit of Lantus and Novolog to correct and cover. The Lantus is great and has been having numbers anywhere between 90-130's. I refused the NPH at night since the peak overnight was so irregular.
A question for any parents...what would be my options as to taking him off the NPH in the morning so that he wouldn't need to eat every 2-3 hours to cover the NPH dosage? Of course I will speak to my endo team but does anyone think Lantus just might be the way to go and just correct when he eats? Could this elimate the force feeding?
I too feel like a Super Mom and at times so desperately needs a break but as soon as I see his darling little face...it all goes away! He of course is a child first then a child with diabetes!
Thanks to all of those that replied! Makes me feel better to hear from you.
My son is on Novorapid in the day for breakfast, lunch and diner and on Levemir at night. So 4 doses in all. Both in Pens. And as you said for Sawyer my son is also very good for his testing and needles but food is not always a fun time for any of us. If he didn't have Diabetes and didn't want to eat all his dinner I would just send him off to read a book, watch a movie or do whatever, but he NEEDS to eat and that is tough when they're that young.
Best of luck to you all and thanks for your replies!
Thanks to all of those that replied! Makes me feel better to hear from you.
My son is on Novorapid in the day for breakfast, lunch and diner and on Levemir at night. So 4 doses in all. Both in Pens. And as you said for Sawyer my son is also very good for his testing and needles but food is not always a fun time for any of us. If he didn't have Diabetes and didn't want to eat all his dinner I would just send him off to read a book, watch a movie or do whatever, but he NEEDS to eat and that is tough when they're that young.
Best of luck to you all and thanks for your replies!
Its not always easier when they are older either. We often get into food fights here. I mean if you are full you are full. Or if its gross its gross. I hate the food part most of all because we have to be "mean stupid heads" for making them eat to keep them healthy. Thankfully tho I can tell her what she doesnt want to hear to get her to eat what she has too. We just do insulin twice a day but I do not think its working for us. Her numbers are either really low or really high.
Thanks to all of those that replied! Makes me feel better to hear from you.
My son is on Novorapid in the day for breakfast, lunch and diner and on Levemir at night. So 4 doses in all. Both in Pens. And as you said for Sawyer my son is also very good for his testing and needles but food is not always a fun time for any of us. If he didn't have Diabetes and didn't want to eat all his dinner I would just send him off to read a book, watch a movie or do whatever, but he NEEDS to eat and that is tough when they're that young.
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HI AJM,
Are you dosing before meals for your son? Our clinic had us give insulin after meals, so we could just count carbs that had been eaten. This will result in higher BG peaks post meals while the insulin is 'catching up' but we never had to force feed. The clinic's perspective is that isn't worth the possible long-term food issues that can come with force feeding. It is healthiest to eat when you are hungry. Of course, when treating a low, you must eat - which is why then I rely on fruit snacks because they are a 'treat' or a juice box. Both my son tolerates well.
Also, I am glad you are happy with the pens, but we were discouraged from using them because my son's doses were almost always less than 2 units (both of Levemir and Novolog) and apparently the pens are not as accurate at less than 2 units. We ended up with highs or lows when using the pens. I instead just used the pen insulin vials with syringes. (less insulin thrown away at the end of the month).
My son is on the pump now (Animas Ping) and it is going really well. He has been hypo I think only 3 times since he started 3 weeks ago, vs an average of 1 hypo per day on shots. I know your son is young, but I would encourage at least looking into it. Our clinic is highly in favor of pumps, especially for young kids because they allow for such small, but still accurate dosing.
Good luck - I think it is hard with a 4 year old - it is hard to imagine doing this with kids even smaller!
We give his insulin after meals. He usually gets all his carbs but when he's sick ( cold, runny nose) he tends to eat less so we just give him less insulin. My son gets anywhere from 3.5 to 6 units per shot so the pens work great for us. I am curious about the pumps but I think he might be too young. He would probably just want to play around with it.
He gets around 1 low a week and sometimes none for a week or two. In a way it might be easier to control his blood sugar levels at this age. We do everything for him, but in another way, he is unable to tell us how he feels so we test a lot more. best example is yesterday after his nap, he got up, ran down the stairs and started playing with his toys, singing to the TV and being really funny. I test him just because I was curious and he was at 3.1!
Just out of curiousity what is your son's carbs for snacks and meals? Sawyer is 35 carbs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and three 15 carb snacks: 10, 2, 8pm. Thanks!
He is definitely not too young for a pump. I have heard of babies and toddlers on a pump. You'd be amazed at how little the kids bother with them. Plus they make pump packs and clothing with special pockets so the pump can be out of reach. The Animas Ping (and probably others) also has a lock out feature so they can press buttons and nothing happens. My son got his pump at 4yrs old (5 mons after dx). The best part about it is that he doesn't have to eat if he doesn't want to and also if he wants to eat more, it doesn't mean another shot. The meter that comes with the Animas Ping serves as a remote for the pump so he can be bolused without having to stop or slow down.
Our son (8) has just recently decided he wants a pump. We've just about decided to go with the OmniPod, for several reasons. There is no tubing to get tangled or kinked, and no insertion set; the reservoir attaches to the site and the insertion is automated. It's waterproof, so we don't have to unplug anything when he bathes, swims, etc. Because the control device is wireless/remote, I can hold on to it and not worry about it getting dropped or broken, and I know I'll be the only one bolusing. Best of all, as with all pumps, we can turn off his basal insulin when we need do; when he's very active or sick. With the shots, if he goes swimming I have to feed him glucose tablets every 20 minutes so he doesn't go low.
Anyway, I'm so releived he's so excited about getting a pump. He's going to ask his endo tomorrow during his checkup. It would be great to have him on a pump by spring :)